Izakaya Carbondale — Restaurant in Carbondale

To establish authenticity of this review, I lived in Tokyo for few years and my wife is a native Japanese, who recently moved to the US from Yokohama, Japan.

First - Food. We started with Karaage and Chicken Kushiyaki (Yakitori) as appetizers, and I will say the Karaage was very authentic and the best that I've had in the states. Yakitori was juicy and perfectly cooked as well. Highly recommend both of these dishes as they reminded me of the same dishes I enjoyed in Tokyo. Agedashi was great and authentic in form, but broth should be more concentrated/stronger. Salmon Tartare was also great in form, but lacked some flavor as it was missing something. Japanese Cowboy bowl was great in execution and combination in terms of the make-up, but the pork belly had uneven texture with some burnt pieces and some great chewy, moist pieces. Overall, food quality, presentation, and taste were good.

Second - Drinks. Chu Hai was little way too sour (too much lemon juice) at first, and the server / bartender took it back to fix it. However, it just came out very syrupy in the end. But great service on the server's end to try to resolve the issue. Perhaps different drinks are tastier here.

Service - Our server was absolutely great. He had his menu and specials memorized and checked-up on us in reasonable increments to make sure we were good. Amazing customer service and can't complain there.

Ambiance - The interior of the restaurant was pretty cool. I felt like I was in an upscale Izakaya somewhere in Tokyo. It feels high-end inside with dim lights, and overall, good vibes all around.

Overall experience was great and would recommend to those that want something other than regular sushi dining in...

Unapologetically Terrible Service. (On a Tuesday.) Server never once came to check on us until we asked the hostess twice to locate her. It had been over 30 mins since we saw her last, during which we were waiting to order drinks, waiting to ask for replacement sushi for a child that inexplicably contained wasabi (server charged us nonetheless), and wondered where our appetizer once (ordered 45 mins ago by that point). When our server finally came outside (contrast other server who had come outside 30X by then), she said “I have a lot of tables. We’re busy like every other restaurant in America.”

I guess that makes sense. We’re in America and in a restaurant, so I should have realized that we didn’t deserve service.

Servers sometimes get tied up. I get that. But that “get preemptively mad at the customer so they can’t mad at you” ninja move was...

I not a person who do bad reviews,but today were insaine,we had previous good experiences and today we were after hot springs and we did like stay in restaurant,we were trying to place to go order and they told us to come in and order in bar,first bartenders were super arrogant and not nice at all,to ask to put to go order they said they can’t do it bcs they are busy,bcs u busy,i am happy ti take to go food and u can use my seat…i ask to call manager,bartender came and said he is manager,Zac he was rude to my husband and it’s not how u want that people can talk to u,it’s not hospitality,i really wish that this place improved communication skills,the way how they talked to us is unacceptable!!!We live in Carbondale,and i love the food there,but this bartenders...